Lapper stop motion



H. L. FOSTER July 11, 1967 LAPPER STOP MOT ION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 4, 1966 ATTORNEYS July 11, 1967 L, FOSTER 3,339,007

LAPPER STOP MOTION Filed Jan 4, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet mg 7 5 so 32 r i I s 5 I QQ 5%; 1 (9 g L 1 ;-/Y a W A ll I".

INVENTOR. HAzoLb L. FOSTER ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,330,007 LAPPER STOP MOTION Harold L. Foster, Chester, S.C., assignor to Spring Mills Inc., a corporation of South Carolina Filed Jan. 4, 1966, Ser. No. 518,655 4 Claims. (Cl. 19-.25)

This invention relates generally to a stop motion for textile machines and more particularly to a stop motion for a sliver lapper which is adapted to stop the lapper immediately when the sliver is not properly fed into the drafting sections.

Conventional sliver lappers employ feed rolls to draw the slivers from supply cans and over a suitable creel. A stop motion device is normally positioned in advance of the feed rolls to detect broken or slack slivers as they are drawn toward the lapper from the creel. This usual stop motion operates to stop the lapper immediately when a broken or slack sliver approaches the feed rolls. Drafting rolls normally pull the slivers as they leave the feed rolls and the slivers are guided over horizontally disposed aprons in their path of travel to the drafting section. When one or more slivers break in this area between the feed rolls and drafting section, the slivers bunch or pile up on the apron and the usual stop motion does not detect this abnormal condition so that the lapper continues to operate. Unless the lapper is kept under constant surveilance by the operator and imme diately stopped, the bunched slivers can cause damage to the lapper and produce a lighter than normal lap.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a stop motion which operates immediately to stop the lapper upon the occurrence of a bunch or pile up of the slivers onthe apron.

To this end, the present stop motion includes detector means in the form of a detector rod which is supported at opposite ends in spaced relationship above the apron and above the normal path of travel of the moving slivers. The medial portion of the detector rod is moved, when engaged by bunched slivers moving along the apron, to engage an electrical contact and immediately stop the lapper.

Details of the invention will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective of the sliver lapper, illustrating the manner in which the slivers are withdrawn from the supply cans and fed thereto;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the slivers being drawn into one section of the lapper and guided on the apron as they move to the drafting section;

FIGURE 3 is a simplified vertical sectional View taken along line 3-3 in FIGURE 1 and schematically illustrating the manner in which the lap rolls are formed of the textile slivers;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially along line 44 in FIGURE 2, the central portion being broken away;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of a portion of FIGURE 4, looking along line 55 in FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 6 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along line 6-6 in FIGURE 4 and schematically showing how the present stop motion is connected to the electrical circuit of the machine.

The textile sliver lapper shown in the drawings is of the type manufactured by Whitin Machine Works, Whitinsville, Massachusetts and known as the super lap machine. It is with this type of lapper that the present invention is particularly useful, however, it is to be under- 3,33%,007 Patented July 11, 1967 stood that the present stop motion may be employed with other types of lappers.

As schematically illustrated in FIGURE 3, the lapper includes three drafting sections, broadly indicated at A, B and C, which each produce a drafted web of fibers. The successive webs are superimposed as they are carried to the left-hand end of the machine and pass between condenser rolls before they are rolled into a lap, such as that indicated at L in FIGURE 3, by means of winding rolls 11. Textile slivers or strands of fibers S are withdrawn from the supply cans 12 and pass over suitable creel arms 13 to the respective drafting sections A, B and C.

As best shown in FIGURE 2, the slivers S are withdrawn from the supply cans 12 by feed roll means which includes a lower driven feed roll 14 and a plurality of floating upper rollers 15. As the slivers S are drawn downwardly from the creel arm 13 by the feed rolls 14, 15, they pass above the conventional stop motion broadly indicated at 16. This stop motion includes a rod 17 that is supported at opposite ends on chains 18. The chains 18 are connected to arms 19 that are supported on the lapper frame. A contact plate 20 is supported on but electrically insulated from the arm 19 and is connected to a stop motion circuit, to be presently described, by a wire 21. The conventional stop motion 16 (FIG- URE 2) is effective to stop the lapper when a broken or slack sliver engages the rod 17 to swing the same into engagement with the contact plate 20.

From the feed rolls 14, 15 the slivers S move along aprons 23 and pass around guide blocks 24, the lower portions of which are fixed on the aprons 23. The slivers 5 change directions approximately degrees as they pass about the guide blocks 24 and before they are guided downwardly in substantially a vertical direction into the drafting section, broadly indicated at A. Thus, the slivers S are normally maintained in a taut condition as they are guided along the upper surface of the aprons 23 and they are maintained under a slight tension by the feed rolls 14, 15 and the drafting rolls 25 of the drafting section A.

The slivers S are divided into two groups and are directed into the drafting section A through the feed rolls 14, 15, and over a pair of aprons 23, which are identical but opposite hand. Therefore, only the right-hand portion of FIGURE 2 will be described in detail and the parts associated with the left-hand portion of FIGURE 2 will bear the same reference characters as corresponding parts of the right-hand portion. When the slivers S are fed down into the drafting section A, they are combined to form a web W which extends beneath the next sections B and C where additional webs Ware laid thereon. The combined webs are then wound onto the lap L (FIG- URE 3 In accordance with the present invention, stop motion devices, broadly indicated at 30 in FIGURE 2, are supported on each of the aprons 23. Each stop motion device 30 includes a detector bar or rod 31 (FIGURE 4) having its medial horizontal portion positioned above the apron 23 and spaced slightly above the moving slivers S. While the detector bar 31 may be positioned at any location above the apron 23, it is referred that it extend across and slightly in advance of the guide blocks 24, as shown in FIGURE 2.

Opposite ends of the horizontal portion of the detector rod 31 have vertically extending leg portions 32, 33 and outer horizontally extending pivot portions 34, 35 (FIGURE 4). The horizontal pivotal portions 34, 35 are supported for pivotal movement in suitable holes in the upper portions of upstanding support posts 36, 37 which are, in turn, supported at their lower ends on the apron 23. A switch element contact 40 is supported straddle and are normally spaced. from the medial portion of the detector rod'31. It is preferred that the contact 7 legs 41, 42 be closely spaced adjacent the medial portion of the detector bar 31 so that a very slight movement of the detector rod will cause the same to engage the legs.

' The frame of the machine, including the apron 23, is electrically grounded, as schematically illustrated at '45 in FIGURE 6, so that the detector rod 31 acts as the grounded element of a switch while the contact element 40 is insulated from the frame of the machine-and is connected to the positive side of a low voltage stop' motion circuit, schematically illustrated in FIGURE 6.

The stop motion-circuit includes a transformer 46 for supplying a low voltage current to one side of an electrically operable control switch or relay 47 by means of a wire 48. A wire 49 connects the other side of the control switch 47 to the contact member 40. The conventional stop motion is also connected to the wire 48 by means of wire 21. The driving motor of the lapper is indicated schematically at 50 in FIGURE 6 and is connected to main lines 51, 52 of an electrical operating circuit and through the control switch 47. The lapper motor will continue to operate to drive the lapper as long as the switch 47 is in the closed position, shown in FIGURE 6. When the detector rod 31 swing into engagement with the leg 42 of the element 40, by means to be presently described, the electrical circuit is completed through the stop motion circuit to cause the switch 47 to open and thereby immediately stop the motor 50 of the lapper.

As long as all of the slivers S at each of the drafting sections A, B and C are being properly fed by the feed rolls 14, and taken up by the drafting rolls 25 in the drafting sections, the slivers S will pass beneath the detector rods 31 without engaging them so that they do not come in contact with the contact leg 42 (FIG- URE 6). Should a break occur in the slivers between the drafting rolls 25 of the drafting section and the feed rolls 14, 15, the feed rolls will continue to feed the slivers onto the apron 23 but since the broken sliver is' not continually drawn by the drafting rolls 25, the broken sliver will pile up or bunch up on the apron 23 and move into engagement with the detector rod 31. The

bunched sliver will impart a movement to the detector rod 31 so that it engages the contact leg 42 of the contact element 40 to complete the stop motion circuit and immediately stop the lapper. Thus, the'lapper will not continue to run with less than the desired number of slivers being fed into the drafting section. The operator (FIGURE 6) be on the order of about ,4 to of an.

inch so that immediately upon engagement of the detector ro'd' 31 by the piled up leading end portion of a broken strand, the stop motion will be actuated. It has been found that with such a fine adjustment, even a large a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims. 7

What is claimed:

1. In a textile fiber lapper'having spaced apart drafting sections for forming laps from a plurality of slivers of textile fibers, feed rolls in advance of each drafting section for feeding the slivers thereto, and an apron positioned between said feed rolls and each of said drafting sections for supporting the moving slivers in a substantially horizontal plane throughout at least a portion of their travel to said drafting sections, said feed rolls causing a broken sliver to bunch up on said apron whena sliver breaks between said feed rolls and the correspond ing drafting section, the combination therewith of sliver actuated stop motion means comprising (a) a detector bar having a medial portion extending above each of said aprons and the moving sliver supported thereby, (b) means supporting opposite ends of said detector bar so that movement is imparted to the medial portion of said detector bar when engaged by' bunched slivers moving along said apron, V

(c) switch means actuated by movement of the medial portion of said detector bar in response to engagement thereof by the bunched sliver, and

(b) electrically operable means for stopping the lapper in response to actuation of said switch means.

2. In a textile lapper according to claim 1 wherein said detector bar includes vertically extending sections having lower ends connected to each end of said medial portion, and horizontally extending opposite end portions 7 connected to the upper ends of said'vertically extending sections, and wherein said support means comprises vertical posts fixed at their lower ends in said apron and means at their upper ends pivotally supporting said horizontal opposite end portions of said detector bar.

3. In a textile lapper according to claim 1 wherein said switch means includes an electrical contact element supported adjacent the medial portion of said detector bar and positioned to be contacted thereby upon movement thereof by bunched slivers.

'4. In a textile lapper according to claim 3 wherein said electrical contact element is forked with one leg on one side and the other leg on the opposite side of said detector bar.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 630,813 8/1899 Meats 19243 2,078,355 4/1937 Weinbrenner 19-155 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,163,481 4/1958 France.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

I. C. WADDEY, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A TEXTILE FIBER LAPPER HAVING SPACED APART DRAFTING SECTIONS FOR FORMING LAPS FROM A PLURALITY OF SLIVERS OF TEXTILE FIBERS, FEED ROLLS IN ADVANCE OF EACH DRAFTING SECTION FOR FEEDING THE SILVERS THERETO, AND AN APRON POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID FEED ROLLS AND EACH OF SAID DRAFTING SECTIONS FOR SUPPORTING THE MOVING SLIVERS IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL PLANE THROUGHOUT AT LEAST A PORTION OF THEIR TRAVEL TO SAID DRAFTING SECTIONS, SAID FEED ROLLS CAUSING A BROKEN SLIVER TO BUNCH UP ON SAID APRON WHEN A SLIVER BREAKS BETWEEN SAID FEED ROLLS AND THE CORRESPONDING DRAFTING SECTION, THE COMBINATION THEREWITH OF SLIVER ACTUATED STOP MOTION MEANS COMPRISING (A) A DETECTOR BAR HAVING A MEDIAL PORTION EXTENDING ABOVE EACH OF SAID APRONS AND THE MOVING SLIVER SUPPORTED THEREBY, 